McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes the winning the 2024 constructors' title would be an important "milestone" for the team in what he called an "unprecedented" season. The Woking team enjoys a 30-point lead over Ferrari heading into the Qatar Grand Prix, knowing that if it out-scores the Scuderia by 15 or more points, it will land its first constructors' title since 1998 and first of any kind since Lewis Hamilton's 2008 drivers' title. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who start third and fourth, bagged maximum points in the sprint, with Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz only fifth and seventh on the Lusail grid. In 2024, for the first time in history, four teams - McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes - have won multiple races, with the seven drivers from these teams, sans Sergio Perez, all scoring multiple wins, another new record. Discussing the title situation, Stella felt winning the constructors' would provide McLaren a strong basis from which to launch an attack for the drivers' crown. "It is one of those with preferred children like they are all the same," Stella told media including RacingNews365 of the drivers' and constructors' championships. "I think the drivers' title is more important as people tend to remember the drivers' champion more than the constructors', and in itself, potentially, the drivers' championship is the ultimate that you want to achieve. "If I think about the trajectory of McLaren, for where we are at the moment, the constructors' championship is just an unbelievable quest, because it is obviously something we can compete for, but there is still quite a long way to go, and it is fantastic to be in this quest. "It is interesting that when I spoke multiple times with the drivers during the season, Lando himself felt that where we are for our trajectory, the constructors' is more important now - it is the foundation you want to confirm and build. "They felt like we are building something together, like let's put this milestone on the ground and then once things are in place, we can go for the drivers'." Article continues below.
2024's high level
Turning to the level of competitiveness seen in 2024, Stella felt the standard was unlike anything ever seen in grand prix racing. "Formula 1 2024 is my view is completely unprecedented in terms of level of competitiveness across multiple teams," he added. "There are four teams that have delivered a car that on performance can win the world championship, and there are four teams that in the way they operate there is robustness, consistency and reliability. "You may be better than me at going through F1 history but I don't think this has ever happened at these standards - the level of Formula 1 in 2024 is unprecedented."
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